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Firefighters remain at Monday's waste fire

WILTSHIRE Fire & Rescue Service is maintaining a presence at the site of a significant waste fire in Swindon.

Firefighters have been at Averies Recycling in Marshgate since Monday evening, when fire broke out in a stack containing 1,000 tonnes of general waste and building waste.

There have been two fire crews at the site since yesterday evening, and efforts are continuing to suppress the fire and protect neighbouring buildings. Efforts are being made to reduce the amount of waste on site, so that the burning rubbish can be excavated and extinguished, but it is expected that the fire will continue to burn for several days at least.

Air quality monitoring in the immediate vicinity of the fire has been running since yesterday morning, and readings continue to show that the smoke is not impacting on public health.

Public Health England and the Environment Agency, who have been monitoring air quality, said: “There have been a number of large scale mixed waste fires during recent months which have led to Air Quality Cells being established because of the duration and potential public health impact of the fire. The monitoring near Averies shows brief spikes in levels of particulate matter but, overall, levels are below the point at which they may impact public health.

“Our analysis of other pollutants has not identified any potential for an impact on public health. We continue to advise that people in the affected areas should minimise their exposure to the smoke where possible.”

The Fire & Rescue Service is working with Local Resilience Forum partners, including Swindon Borough Council, Public Health England, NHS England and Wiltshire Police, to ensure public safety and discussions continue about the best way to bring the incident to a swift conclusion.

Smoke is still rising from the site and local people are advised to keep doors and windows closed if they are concerned about the plume, especially if they have a pre-existing respiratory condition. Anyone who thinks their health is being affected should contact their GP or call 111.

Local people are also advised that footpaths immediately around the site have been closed by Swindon Council as a safety precaution and these closures should be adhered to.

This is yet further poor management of waste by Averies costing the community a fortune in Fire cover and the air pollution. This company was fined £73k for dust pollution last Autumn.
lessons not learned from Swindon Skips Cheney Manor last year! UnacceptableM4 Bypass

M4 Bypass wrote:
This is yet further poor management of waste by Averies costing the community a fortune in Fire cover and the air pollution. This company was fined £73k for dust pollution last Autumn.

I work for this company and find comments like poor management and lessons should have been learnt laughable. We recycle all and in order to do that it needs to be sorted carefully as we operate a 100% diversion from landfill. How is this environmentally detrimental? The dust pollution was for something that happened over 4 1/2 years ago! We operate a slick operation and all of our yards comply which cannot be said for most waste management companies in Swindon. Yes we have got it wrong in the past but people learn and improve. Swindon adver have given a bad representation of averies and it is frustrating to the people who work at averies who know the REAL facts and is equally frustrating reading narrow minded comments from people who know little about the waste management industry. We understand the frustration regarding the impact the smoke has on surrounding homes and businesses however this is an unfortunate accident which could of happened to anyone! The fire team tested the air quality and it has been said it will have no impact to health! Unbelievable......

[quote][p][bold]M4 Bypass[/bold] wrote:
This is yet further poor management of waste by Averies costing the community a fortune in Fire cover and the air pollution. This company was fined £73k for dust pollution last Autumn.
lessons not learned from Swindon Skips Cheney Manor last year! Unacceptable[/p][/quote]I work for this company and find comments like poor management and lessons should have been learnt laughable. We recycle all and in order to do that it needs to be sorted carefully as we operate a 100% diversion from landfill. How is this environmentally detrimental? The dust pollution was for something that happened over 4 1/2 years ago! We operate a slick operation and all of our yards comply which cannot be said for most waste management companies in Swindon. Yes we have got it wrong in the past but people learn and improve. Swindon adver have given a bad representation of averies and it is frustrating to the people who work at averies who know the REAL facts and is equally frustrating reading narrow minded comments from people who know little about the waste management industry. We understand the frustration regarding the impact the smoke has on surrounding homes and businesses however this is an unfortunate accident which could of happened to anyone! The fire team tested the air quality and it has been said it will have no impact to health! Unbelievable......becki26

Contrary to the majority of negative comments made by the Wiltshire Adver Trolls, I have to agree with Becki's comments. The Fire Service have visited this site on numerous occasions and it must be said that on every occasion, compliance of the current fire legislation has been met. The quantity of materials within the site remains within the regulated limitations permitted and the site security provided is as is reasonably practicable as possible. Although arson or deliberate ignition may be a possibility, other factors such as accidental ignition by glass magnification due to the current high levels of heat (weather) etc, cannot be ruled out.

The fire service are working closely with the Environmental Agency to monitor potential health issues and currently, the levels of pollution are negligible.

This fire is expected to burn for a few more days, however, it is under control and any effects to the general public are miniscule.

Contrary to the majority of negative comments made by the Wiltshire Adver Trolls, I have to agree with Becki's comments. The Fire Service have visited this site on numerous occasions and it must be said that on every occasion, compliance of the current fire legislation has been met. The quantity of materials within the site remains within the regulated limitations permitted and the site security provided is as is reasonably practicable as possible. Although arson or deliberate ignition may be a possibility, other factors such as accidental ignition by glass magnification due to the current high levels of heat (weather) etc, cannot be ruled out.
The fire service are working closely with the Environmental Agency to monitor potential health issues and currently, the levels of pollution are negligible.
This fire is expected to burn for a few more days, however, it is under control and any effects to the general public are miniscule.FiremanSam

Becki welcome to our world where a suppressed and politically biased media feed the local trolls with unsubstantiated drivel. No matter how much you justify or substantiate your views, sadly you have been pipped to the post by our politically regulated and performance related media.

Unfortunately, the trolls are ignorant and will comment against reason

Becki welcome to our world where a suppressed and politically biased media feed the local trolls with unsubstantiated drivel. No matter how much you justify or substantiate your views, sadly you have been pipped to the post by our politically regulated and performance related media.
Unfortunately, the trolls are ignorant and will comment against reasonFiremanSam

FiremanSam wrote:
Becki welcome to our world where a suppressed and politically biased media feed the local trolls with unsubstantiated drivel. No matter how much you justify or substantiate your views, sadly you have been pipped to the post by our politically regulated and performance related media.

Unfortunately, the trolls are ignorant and will comment against reason

Thank you for commenting! I know i wont change opinions mud sticks just couldn't sit by while the company i have worked for pretty much my whole working time gets slated by people who have no idea. So frustrating!

[quote][p][bold]FiremanSam[/bold] wrote:
Becki welcome to our world where a suppressed and politically biased media feed the local trolls with unsubstantiated drivel. No matter how much you justify or substantiate your views, sadly you have been pipped to the post by our politically regulated and performance related media.
Unfortunately, the trolls are ignorant and will comment against reason[/p][/quote]Thank you for commenting! I know i wont change opinions mud sticks just couldn't sit by while the company i have worked for pretty much my whole working time gets slated by people who have no idea. So frustrating!becki26

personally, I am worried by dioxin emissions. Waste fires are notorious for emitting dioxin and I don't find the monitoring of particulate matter particularly reassuring.
Is the Environment Agency measuring dioxin levels? That is what I'd be interested.
(for people less familiar with waste combustion: dioxin emissions are a particularly serious problem when temperatures in the fire are low, as when a pile of rubbish burns slowly. This is why incineration normally requires that high temperatures are reached. What is going on seems a perfect case for dioxin emissions)

personally, I am worried by dioxin emissions. Waste fires are notorious for emitting dioxin and I don't find the monitoring of particulate matter particularly reassuring.
Is the Environment Agency measuring dioxin levels? That is what I'd be interested.
(for people less familiar with waste combustion: dioxin emissions are a particularly serious problem when temperatures in the fire are low, as when a pile of rubbish burns slowly. This is why incineration normally requires that high temperatures are reached. What is going on seems a perfect case for dioxin emissions)maxvolpi

I am fed-up with this fire not being dealt with last week ,it is still burning and polluting the air quality. It could have been dealt with a lot quicker if the Lazy firemen hadn't been on strike again (to busy sunbathing out the front of there fire station trying to look cool , or going to summer shows trying to impress the Kids . I say get your butts down to Marshgate and put the fire out .

I am fed-up with this fire not being dealt with last week ,it is still burning and polluting the air quality. It could have been dealt with a lot quicker if the Lazy firemen hadn't been on strike again (to busy sunbathing out the front of there fire station trying to look cool , or going to summer shows trying to impress the Kids . I say get your butts down to Marshgate and put the fire out .ctrctr